Poughkeepsie, NY – 2 November 2018 – Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union has agreed to pay $95,000 to resolve alleged violations of a law designed to protect service members, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
The Poughkeepsie-based credit union is accused of violating the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act by illegally repossessing seven vehicles owned by SPCA-protected service members. Under the agreement, Hudson Valley Credit Union is set to pay roughly $65,000 to the seven individuals as well as a civil penalty of $30,000 to the U.S. government.
The agreement resolves all claims and causes of action contained in the U.S. complaint filed against the company.
Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union hasn’t admitted liability, according to a press release from the company, and emphasized “no legal determination was made as to whether” the seven instances constituted violations.
“The men and women of our military deserve our unwavering support,” President and CEO Mary D. Madden said in the release, “so when we learned of the (U.S. Department of Justice) inquiry in 2016, we immediately reviewed our procedures to ensure compliance with the SCRA.”
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in a press release that, “We are pleased that Hudson Valley has taken these remedial steps.”
The credit union allegedly didn’t obtain the required court orders before repossessing the seven vehicles, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The Office began investigating the credit union after learning of two lawsuits featuring plaintiffs claiming the company repossessed their vehicles after they entered military service.
The investigation revealed seven additional vehicles, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and that — before August 2014 — Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union didn’t “have any written policies or procedures that addressed the SCRA’s protections against non-judicial auto repossessions.”
The agreement stipulates the credit union provide $10,000 to six of the affected service members, in addition to any lost equity in the vehicle with interest. The company is set to pay $5,000 to another service member whose vehicle was repossessed but returned within 24 hours.
The credit union has also taken steps to fix the credit of these service members, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Hudson Valley Credit Union is the 34th largest credit union in the U.S. and serves more than a quarter million members in the Hudson Valley, according to the company release. The Department of Justice reviewed activities between 2008 and 2017, according to the release, which included more than 215,000 loans representing more than $9 million in aggregate borrowings.
Source: Poughkeepsie Journal
Facebook Comments